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14. NES Controller

Year: 1985

System: Nintendo Entertainment System

The Legacy: Likely the most iconic video game controller in the world. The North American NES controller in all of it's red, black, and grey glory has become a cultural symbol essentially unrivaled for the lasting image of video game controllers: A directional pad, two buttons, a select button, and a start button. The big changes from the Famicom controller?

Note the boxy, hard edges of the NES controller in sharp contrast with the softer, rounded, and lifted edges from the Famicom. And just like the Famicom, the NES controller would come around on the other end as the basic building block of the Nintendo Wii Remote. But that wouldn't come for almost two decades after this.